28/06/2022
TUESDAY, JUNE 28TH 2022
*Rhapsody of Realities Daily Devotional*
By Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
TOPIC: *IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MASTER*
Today's Opening Scripture:
Matthew 10:22
*And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved*
Pastor Chris Says:
When you study a story in Matthew 17:24-27, you’ll discover that when some Jewish officials came to harass Peter about taxes, they didn’t ask him about his own taxes. Rather, they said, *“...Doth not your master pay tribute?”* (Matthew 17:24). In other words, *"Doesn’t your Master pay taxes?”* They overlooked Peter and focused instead on the Master.
It’s always been that way: it’s all about our Master. The world hates us, not because of who we are, but because of who we represent—Jesus Christ. They’ll hate you for your faith in Him. No matter how good you are, how helpful you are, how kind you are, how successful you are; it won’t make any difference to them because you’re associated with Jesus Christ.
The hatred of Satan for Jesus is called the spirit of the world. The world hates Jesus. Many individuals who don’t even know Jesus enough still hate Him, and you wonder why. How can they hate someone they don’t even know? It’s because of the spirit of the world. It has captured a lot of people in the world, and it moves them in a way that makes them think about the Master with hatred.
They want religion, they want to pray, they want to believe in something, but when you tell them about Jesus, they reject Him vehemently. A man named Simeon said that this Jesus is *“set for a sign that shall be spoken against”* (Luke 2:34).
There’re people now who claim that when we say Jesus is the only way, it’s *“hate speech.”* They’re construing many of the things we say as hate speech, thereby laying the foundation for a massive persecution of Christians in the last days.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:25, *"…If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”* When you’re persecuted, always remember that you were sent, not in your own name, but in the Name of Jesus. Therefore, the Lord Himself shall be your defense, and reward.
PRAYER / CONFESSION
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*I’m Christ’s ambassador, the bearer of the news of His saving power. I’m steadfast, undaunted, always abounding in the work of the Lord, irrespective of the distress or persecution in this world. I triumph gloriously in Him always, boldly proclaiming the righteousness and blessedness of Christ and His saving power to the ends of the earth. Amen!*
FURTHER STUDY
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John 15:18-21
*“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.*
Luke 2:34
*Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against*
Matthew 10:24-25 NIV
*“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!*
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
Acts 13:13-52; Nehemiah 9-10
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
2 Corinthians 10:1-7; Isaiah 17
